Lets see, the murder capital of the US (Washington DC) became the most violent city AFTER banning handguns. Britians handgun crime rate is rapidly increasing after banning all guns. A city in Florida reduced violent crime against women by 88% when the police actively trained law abiding women how to use handguns. A small town in Georgia virtually eliminated all break-ins when it required every homeowner to own a gun. Government studies of criminals show the biggest thing they fear is an armed law abiding citizen. Other government sponsored studies show that guns used in self defense is the most successful way to save yourself, even though they rarely get fired in a self defense situation. A gun buyback program cost $250,000, yet did absolutely nothing to make our neighborhoods safer. While I respect our elected officials goals of making our streets safer, it seems to me that they should focus on things that actually make a difference. How about spending 80% of their efforts on "carrots" like programs that help deter teens from becoming criminals in the first place (education, youth organizations, jobs, anything positive that as helped communities reduce crime at the start), and 20% of their effort on "sticks" like activites that let law abiding citizens protect themselves (community watch programs, actually training targeted law abiding citizens on the use of guns for self defense). Violent crime would decrease and fewer innocent bystanders would get hurt.